Perhaps it was a good thing that the game last night went nearly 5 hours, thus preventing me from being able to post on my blog about it until now. With the immediate sting of the loss slightly less painful, it allowed me to find some bright spots in a bitter loss. First of all, Dice-K went nearly 6 strong innings only giving up 1 run, and he pitched out of numerous tough jams. Also, Jacoby Ellsbury continued to prove himself to be a worthy substitute for Manny Ramirez in the outfield (despite ending the game with his strikeout). His production has allowed the potential pressure that could have been put on guys like Ortiz, Lowell, Pedroia, and Youkilis to carry the offense to be avoided.

Of course, it is concerning to see the usually dependable one-two punch of Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon blow a 5-run lead. However, I will still have confidence if they emerge from the dugout in right field tonight that they can get the job done. Tonight’s game will tell a lot about the resilience that the Red Sox have to be able to come back from giving up a game on their home field last night.

The Sox have a great start now coming back thus far with a 9-run lead now, but it’s never over ’til it’s over. (Especially when we’re talking about the Yankees and Red Sox)